Door latch mechanism



Aug. A -KNAPP l. 2,211,130

DOOR .LATCH MECHANISM Filedr Jan. 5, 1938 A TTORNE Ys Patented Aug. 13, i940 UNITED STATE DOOR LATCH MECHANISM l Archer L. Knapp, Grosse Pointe, Mich., assignor to Packard Motor Mich., a corporation Car Company, Detroit,

of Michigan Application January 5, 1938, Serial No. V183,515

2 Claims.

This invention relates to motor vehicles, and particularly to the locking mechanism thereof.

The present-day conventional automobile door locking mechanism comprises a latch ybolt for each door which may be operated by a handle on the outside of the door or by another handle on the inside of the door. Usually the connections to these handles are such that the operation of the latch bolt by one handle will not move the other handle.

It is usual also to provide mechanism operated by the inside handle or by some other device on the inside of the doorsuch that the movement thereo'f to locking position will lock the latch bolt against operation from the outside. 'Ihis permits the operator on the inside to lock all four doors against outside intrusion.

There is a demand by some motor vehicle owners for an additional locking means for therear doors, a locking means that cannot be opened by children in the rear compartment, because these owners feel that children are not safe in the rear compartment with the present locks due to the fact that even when the conventional rear door locking devices are placed in locked position they are easily operated and the doors can be opened by a child. If this is done when the vehicle is moving rapidly a serious accident may result.

On the other hand, many motor vehicle owners prefer the present door-locking mechanism because they feel that the rear doors should be capable of being easily opened in case of accident. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a locking mechanism that will meet the demand ofl those who want the rear doors locked against children in the rear compartment. and yet one that may be so unobtrusive as not to be objectionable when it is in its inoperative orA unlocked position.

it has been suggested that a lock device operated on the inside ot the door might be used to temporarily lock the inside operating mechanism from operating the latch bolt, but such mechanism is thrown out of operation when the door is opened from the outside, thus requiring that the inside device, to be useful, shall be operated every time the door is closed. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a dogging device for the inside latch operating mechanism oran automobile door, such that a tool is required to move the dogging device from one position to another, whereby the door may be locked against children on the inside but opened from the outside, and yet one that retains its locked position even after the door has been opened from the outside.

Itis another object of the invention to provide a clogging device for the inside latch operating mechanism ithat will not interfere with the inside locking device which locks the door against outside intrusion.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing which forms a part of this specilication, and in which:

Fig. 1 is an inside view of the right side motor vehicle embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the right rear door of the vehicle with parts broken away to illustrate the locking mechanism in detail;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the inside panel of the door showing the remote control door handle;

Fig. 4 is a view of the parts shown at the right of Fig. 2, with the locking dog in unlocked position;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-6 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a view of the lock parts in a difieren position from that shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, I0 represents a vehicle body having the usual front door Il and rear door l2. The outside door handles for these doors are shown in dotted lines at I3, and on the inside of the doors there are shown in full lines the window regulators I4 and the remote control door handles l5. Each of the doors is shown as ofa formed with a window opening I6, and the glass 'Y window I1 of the front door is shown in its raised or closed position, while the glass window il of the rear door is shown in its lowered or open position. These windows are operated by the regulators Il.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated the door latching and locking means as used on the rear door i2. The upholstery and some of the inside paneling of the door is cut away to more clearlyillustrate the lock mechanism. Near the front edge of the door the latch mechanism is shown comprising a latch bolt 2li having a spring 2l and a guide pin 22. There is a downwardly extended plate 23 on the latch bolt, and a roll-back 2l has a head 25 operating on a ange 28 on the plate 2l. A squared shaft 21 isconnected to theusual outside door handle I3 for operating the roll-back 24 to retract the latch bolt 20 against its spring 2l. The roll-back is returned to its normal unlatching position by a spring 2l.

From the above description it will be seen that the latch bolt may be retracted by the rollback 24- by operating the outside handle I3, or it may be retracted without moving the rollback and its attached handle. There is provided additional means for retracting the latch bolt 20, this means being operated from the inside of the vehicle as by the remote control handle I5 shown in Fig. 1. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, this handle I5 is mounted on a shaft 30 supported in a bracket 3I secured to one of the panels of the door I2 as by the three screws 32, 33, and I4. The shaft has an arm 35 to which is pivoted a rod 36 as at 31. The rod 35 extends forwardly to the plate 23 of the latch bolt and it has a headed pin 38 which operates in a slot 35 in the plate 23. Normally, the handle I5 and its shaft 3D may be operated from an intermediate position in either of two directions. Thus the shaft 30 may be turned clockwise as shown in Fig. 4. and by means of the connecting rod this will retract the latch bolt 20, so that the door may be opened from the inside. Or the shaft 30 may be turned in the opposite direction to move the rod 36 forwardly in the slot 33 so that its headed pin 38 is in the position shown in Fig. 6. v'I'he headed pin 38 is then directly under an arm 40 formed as an integral part of the roll-back 24, and when the headed pin 38 is under the end of the arm 40 the roll-back obviously cannot be operated to retract the latch bolt 20. This is the locking position for the roll-back 24 and its connected outside handle I3, and when the inside handle I5 is in that position the door cannot be opened from the outside.

Thus it will be seen that the mechanism thus described comprises a latch bolt with an outside latch operating device in the form of the handle I3, which handle may be reached through the window opening i5 of the door I2 by a passenger inside of the vehicle, so that such passenger may, if the door cannot be otherwise opened, reach through the Window opening I5 and turn the handle I3 and thus open the door. There is also the inside latch operating device in the form oi the handle I5 and its connected parts and it will be noted that each of these latch operating devices; that is, the handle I3 and the handle I5, may operate the latch bolt 20 without moving the other device, that is. when the handle I5 is not in its locking position.

With the above construction, and nothing more, there is the possibility of accidental opening of the door I2 from the inside, that is', by accidentally moving the handle I5 to the door releasing position, and indeed this maybe done by children in the rear compartment of the vehicle, not accidentally, but purposely, though without thought of whatmay happen. It is to guard against this possibility that the present invention is designed.

A dogging device is provided for the remote control handle I5 or its associated parts. .This is shown in the form of an arm mounted on a short shaft 46, which shaft is rotatively supported as at 41 on a bent bracket 48 mounted on the bracket 3| above described. The screw 34 secures the two brackets together, and due to the bend 49 in the bracket 48 the latter is denitely positioned relative to the bracket 3|.

The shaft 46 of the dogging device extendsthrough the upholstery panel 50 of the door I2, a grommet 5I being provided in the upholstery panel for this purpose. The end oi' the shalt 45 is thus almost vilush with the inner face oi the panel 50 and is provided with a slot 52 so that it may be operated by a coin or possibly a screw driver. or other tool of that sort. Thus the dogging device is formed for operation by a tool only and cannot be manipulated otherwise. By rotating the shaft 45 by means of a coin or other tool the dogging arm 45 maybe moved from its dogging position behind the varm 35, as it is shown in Fig. 2, to the released position where it is vshown in Fig. 4. In the dogging position in which it is shown in Fig. 2 the remote control handle I5 obviously cannot be moved to retract the latch bolt 20, and consequently the door I2 cannot be opened from the inside, though of course by the unusual effort oi reaching through the window opening I8 an adult may turn the outside door handle Il and thus open the door. But accidental opening of the door, or opening of the door by children in the rear compartment, is obviated. The dogging device 45 is yieldingly retained in either oi its two positions by a spring washer 44 or by a spring catch operating in notches 5I in the arm 45, or both.

It will be seen also that for those who do not wish to have the rear door locked against opening from the inside, the dogging device may be turned to the position shown in Fig. 4, by the use of a tool on the shaft 48, and there is no danger of accidentally moving the dogging device to its locking position. Thus the owner of the vehicle has the choice of using or not using the device, depending upon the circumstances under which he is driving. i

It is also apparent that the use of the dogging device 45 does not interfere with locking the door against outside intrusionfas the handle I5 may be moved to its locked position regardless of the position of the dogging device. Also, when the dogging device is once set in the desired position, opening and closing oi the door from the outside does not change its position. It it is set to prevent opening the door with the inside handle I5, opening and closing the door will not alter its eiiectiveness.

While I have herein described in some detail a speciiic embodiment of my invention. which I deem to be new and advantageous and may speciiically claim. I do4 not desire it to be understood that my invention is llimited to the exact details of the construction, as it will be apparent that changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a door lock mechanism for a door having an inside trim panel, a latch device, inside and outside latch operating mechanism, and a dogging device for the inside latch operating mechanism, said dogging device having an operating part arranged substantially flush with the inside trim of the door and slotted to receive a coin or screw driver for operation.

2. In a door lock mechanism for a door having an inside trim panel, a latch device for said door, latch operating mechanism .for said device, a dogging device i'or said latch operating mechanism, and an operating part for said dogging device extending through said trim panel and having its operating end arranged substantially flush with the inside face of said trim panel and said end being slotted to receive a coin or screw driver for operation.

ARCHER L. KNAPP. 

